Biography

Jean Baptiste Debret (Paris, 1768 - idem,1848). Painter, draughtsman, engraver, professor, decorator, scenographer. Attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1785 to 1789, where he was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David (1748 - 1825), his cousin and the leading figure of French Neoclassicism. He studied fortifications at the École de Ponts et Chaussées [The future École Polytechnique], where he became a professor of drawing. In 1798, he assisted the architects, Percier and Fontaine with the decoration of buildings. Around 1806, he worked as a painter to the court of Napoleon (1769 - 1821). After the fall of the emperor and the death of his only son, Debret decided to join the Missão Artística Francesa [French Artistic Mission], which arrived in Brazil in 1816. He moved to Rio de Janeiro and from 1817 onwards, gave lectures in painting in his studio, where he had Simplício de Sá (1785 - 1839) as pupil. In 1818, he aided with the public decorations for the acclamation of King João VI (1767 - 1826) in Rio de Janeiro. Around 1825, he executed a series of etchings, today in the Engravings Department of the National Library of Rio de Janeiro. From 1826 to 1831, he was professor of historical painting at the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes - Aiba [Imperial Academy of Fine Arts], alternating this activity with trips to various cities around Brazil, in which he portrayed human types and local customs and landscapes. His pupils at Aiba included Porto Alegre (1806 - 1879) and August Muller (1815 - c.1883). In 1829, he organised the Historical Painting Class Exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, the first public showing of art in Brazil. Debret left the country in 1831 to return to Paris with his disciple, Porto Alegre. From 1834 to 1839, he edited the book, Viagem Pitoresca e Histórica ao Brasil [Picturesque and Historical Voyage to Brazil], published in three volumes and illustrated with lithographs based on the watercolours he had drawn from his studies and observations.